Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Todd for her paper. As the Chair and other members have said, we have met with a number of people around this issue. Views have varied, not so much on the question of whether BrExit would be a good thing for Ireland and Northern Irish relations, but more in terms of what could, should, might or might not be done, whether there is any point doing anything and whether this might be a storm in a teacup and will not happen at all. My impression, from the professor's paper, is that she is unequivocal that this is not the approach that should be taken and that we should presume we must protect our position, depending on a potential British exit, or as Senator Burke has said, something that does not quite amount to an exit, but is the next best thing to it. I could be wrong, but of all the contributors I have heard, Professor Todd is the most unequivocal in saying that we need to act. As she put it, top-level British-Irish planning for different eventualities has proven imaginative and productive in the past. Perhaps more went on behind the scenes than we knew back in the day. Could Professor Todd develop her thoughts more around the type of top-level planning in which we should be engaging?

My second point relates to the Nordic model. Professor Todd makes the point that the Irish Government could negotiate a special position for North-South endeavours with the British Government within the EU, even in the event of a BrExit. She mentions the Nordic model as an example of how that might be done. That involves a scenario where members of the EU are involved in an agreement with non-members, which has been negotiated to remove obstacles to freedom of movement across Nordic states. We would have to make the agreement with the EU generally to reach a separate arrangement for ourselves and the UK, which would depend on overall EU agreement. Since the Nordic agreement was negotiated, the union has been significantly enlarged and now comprises 28 countries. Is a special deal for us a realistic possibility? Does Professor Todd think the UK would be interested in facilitating us in getting a special deal, or is this more of an issue for us than for them? I ask that because, as the Chair has mentioned, the issue of immigration is a particular concern in the UK. How would such a model work out in such a way as to ease the concerns of those in the UK who regard that as the most important issue on the agenda?